MAD SCRAMBLE!
WILL THE COUNTRY MEET THE IMO-STCW '95 DEADLINE?
OR WILL 200,000 SEAFARERS LOSE THEIR JOBS?
WITH only six months
to go, Pinoy seafarers are now pressed
for time in complying
with IMO-STCW 95.
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!
with only 5 months to go, 200,000
Filipino Seafarers are in for a rough sailing if they cannot comply with
IMO-STCW 95
THE rush is on!
With barely five months to go before the deadline for
compliance with the International Maritime Organ-ization’s Standard of
Training, Certification and Watchkeeping convention, as amended in 1995,
tens of thousands of seafarers are like a pack of wolves going after a
healthy hare in a mad scramble to get their certificates of competency
(COC) upgraded.
IMO set the deadline for compliance with STCW 95 on Jan.
31, 2002, as the audit by its panel of experts will commence on Feb. 1,
2002. However, there is nary a report from among the agencies concerned
– the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), the Maritime Industry
Authority (MARINA), the Maritime Training Council (MTC), the National Assessment
Center (NAC), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)
and the Technical and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), among others
– of the progress they have made vis-à-vis the upgrading of certificates
for some 200,000 or so active Filipino seafarers.
FULL STORY
>>
SSBT ISSUE: Who's barking up
the wrong tree?
By DENNIS GADIL
THE brouhaha generated by the mandatory training
of marine deck officers in the course of Ship Simulator and Bridge Teamwork
(SSBT) appears to be “premature.”
Maritime experts and scholars who choose to stay on the
sidelines of the ongoing debate between proponents and oppositors
to the SSBT course as part, among others of the compliance to the
95 STCW Convention have entered the picture to put the debate on
proper perspective.
Even a high-ranking official of the Professional Regulations
Commission -- who at the inception of SSBT, strongly backed the mandatory
implementation of the course -- was reported to have had a change of heart.
FULL
STORY >>
BLEAK PROSPECTS
Seafarers snubbed out of 'bangkang
papel'
By DENNIS GADIL
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her speechwriters
were surely thinking about the significance of a body of water – a river
or an ocean, to be exact – when they concocted the story of the now famous
“bankang papel” (paper boat) of the three Payatas boys during her first
State-of-the-Nation Address or SONA.
The boys from the blighted areas apparently put their
paper boats on the Pasig River and allowed it to sail, hoping that it would
reach Malacañang and with the messages that were written on it.
Maritime leaders and industry advocates, however, can’t
believe that after 90 minutes of SONA, the President just failed to hammer
on the importance of oceans and seas by citing the crucial role played
by the maritime sector and its dollar-earning seafarers to the economy.
FULL STORY
>>
PRC to admit only BSMarE for
4th marine engineer exams
THE Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) announced
that beginning Feb. 1, 2002, it will only accept graduates of Bachelor
of Science in Marine Engineering (BSMarE) for the 4th Marine Engineer Officers
Licensure examinations.
The PRC said this order is in view of the full implementation
of the approved education requirements of the 1978 STCW Convention as amended
and strict compliance to Section 14, Article V of RA 8544 on Qualifications
of Applicant for Examination.
FULL STORY
>>. |
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The card that provides
discounts to various training and review centers.
THIS PROMO IS VALID UNTIL
OCT. 31, 2001
Available at the UFS office Rm 303
Plaza Towers Bldg.
1175 Leon Guerrero St., Ermita, Manila
|details|
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North Harbor modernization begins;
SPPDP starts upgrade of 5 ports
-NEWS
BLEAK PROSPECTS:
The maritime sector is expected
to just sail the waves with the administration of GMA and the 12th Congress
- FEATURES
The Bangkang Papel and the Pinoy
seafarer
- EDITORIAL
Marino: History of Filipino Seamen
(24th in a series of essays)
-HISTORY
Lim, Rosario and Ramirez emerge
champs in S & V golf tournament
- SPORTS
Contribute your ideas online!
Express your opinion!
You can now
any discussion on seafarer's issues anytime or anywhere you are with
Usapang Marino
(Seafarer's Forum)
at URL: http://www.ufs.ph/discus
Want to play
basketball while in Rotterdam?
Filipino Seafarers who want
to play basketball on Sundays in Rotterdam, please contact Doming Malaloan
at Tel. No.: 010-463635 or International Seamen's Centre, Heijplaat, Rotterdam,
Tel. No.: 4290702 |
| Seafarer's
card available at special promo price
THE Seafarer’s Card offers
discounts to top training centers and review centers for seamen.
Examples of such centers are Mariners, Far East and the Maritime Training
Center of the Philippines (MTCP). The card also gives discounts to
selected establishments such as restaurants, photo development centers,
optical shops and much more.
The Seafarer’s Card was initially
conceptualized by the United Filipino Seafarer’s (UFS) as a discount and
privilege card. Yet to those who have availed of the card, it has
practically become a necessity. Initially available for P650 with
a validity of three years, the card has saved new graduates over P2,000
from discounts on the training courses they are required to attend to be
able to board a ship. And this savings is on the first year alone!
Other cardholders have saved P3,000 to P4,000 pesos from discounts for
upgrading courses, review courses and regular training which is a must
of seafarers renewing their licenses. They have achieved this level
of savings from having the card for less than a year. Which means
they do not even include discounts and privileges from other establishments
aside from training and review centers.
On a special promotional
basis, the Seafarer’s Card will be sold at only P500 with a validity of
five years. Just imagine, that’s only P100 per year to get all the
benefits from the Seafarer’s Card!
With this promo in mind,
let’s use another example to show that the Seafarer’s Card is a must for
seamen. Consider a newly promoted officer who is required to attend
SSBT training for five days at a cost of P17,000. The discount for
this training for cardholders is P1,700. The new officer can save P3,000
at the minimum. Imagine that he would have bought the card at the
promo price of P500 and will still have five years to use the card!
At the promo price of P500
for five years validity, the Seafarer’s Card is truly a MUST ACQUIRE FOR
ALL SEAMEN! Avail of the limited promo offer and get your Seafarer’s
Card at the UFS office at Room 303, Plaza Towers Building, 1175 Leon Guerrero
St., Ermita, Manila. |
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